It was senior night at Lynden Christian, and when the final strains of the school’s alma mater were done, the Lyncs’ seniors had orchestrated a doubleheader sweep of Nooksack Valley on Friday night, Jan. 24.
In the first game pitting the two schools that had won the past four Class 1A girls state championships, it was the LC girls who wore down the Pioneers for a 70-50 victory.
The win, which broke a five-game losing streak to the Pioneers, raised Lynden Christian’s record to 15-2 overall and 10-0 in the Northwest Conference. Nooksack Valley fell to 10-6 overall and 7-3 in league play.
In the second contest, the LC boys took a 19-point halftime lead and then held the Pioneers at bay the rest of the way for an 82-69 victory.
The Lyncs improved to 16-1 overall with their sixth straight win and remained tied for first in the NWC with an 11-0 mark. The Pioneers dropped to 9-7 overall and 4-7 in the conference.

Lyncs defenders try to stop Nooksack’s Kate Shintaffer.
LC Girls Use Depth To Pull Away In 70-50 Win
Lynden Christian takes pride in its depth and the Lyncs needed it to turn a tight contest into an impressive victory that was much closer than the score indicated.
“Our strength is in our numbers,” said LC coach Brady Bomber, whose squad is No.1 in the 1A RPI rankings. “We want to play fast and be our best in the fourth quarter.”
Although up by 11 after the first quarter, their two leading scorers, junior Ella Fritts and senior Allison Shumate already were in foul trouble and forced to the bench. The Pioneers went on an 8-0 run to get within three and it looked like it might be another nail-biter.
“Obviously, we want them in the lineup,” Bomber said of his stars, “but we have trust in the rest of our group.”
And the rest of the Lyncs stepped up. First it was senior reserve Alisa Scott, who made two inside buckets to stop Nooksack’s run. Then it was senior Danya Dykstra, who finished with two 3-pointers and 12 of her game-high 17 points in the first half to give LC a five-point cushion at intermission.
But the two-time defending state champion Pioneers are used to winning and didn’t back down, cutting the lead down to three on Payton Bartl’s 3-pointer with just over three minutes left in the third quarter.
Scott once again came through with a putback on an offensive rebound and when another reserve, sophomore Tyra Dykstra, hit a 3 at the buzzer, the lead was back to eight heading into the fourth quarter.
It was in the final period that the Lyncs’ fast pace and deep bench proved too much, holding Nooksack Valley to 10 points while putting up 22. Junior Estela Hernandez once again was deadly in the clutch, hitting three 3-pointers as the weary Pioneers only managed three points in the final five and a half minutes.
“With about five minutes left, we looked really tired,” said Nooksack coach Shane Wichers. “But LC’s been rolling over people. We’re a young team, and I wasn’t sure how we’d respond. To get 50 points (against Lynden Christian) was huge. It was a big game, and they battled. I’m super proud of them.”
On senior night, it was only appropriate that the Pioneers’ lone senior — Kate Shintaffer — led them with 14 points, three 3-pointers, 8 rebounds, and 100 percent effort.
“A lot of people were doubting us,” said Shintaffer, one of only four returnees from the state championship squads. “We were telling the rest of our team, just give it our all. We could see our potential shining through. We grew a lot from this game.”
The other three veterans did their best too. Junior Charleigh Davis also had 14 points and two 3s, junior Grace DeHoog had 12 points and 8 rebounds, and Bartl had 6 points on a pair of 3-pointers.
“They have been in the shadows,” said Wichers of how the four watched Nooksack’s 2024 class make it to three straight state finals. “Now they’re the lead dogs. We go how they go. We’re still growing. We want to be our best in the postseason.”
So do the Lyncs and their seniors are a big reason. Danya Dykstra not only had a big game on offense but was the steady rock amid the foul trouble. Scott had perhaps the six biggest points in the game, and Shumate finished with 10 points never having fouled out.
“We knew it would be a tough battle,” said Dykstra. “It’s been a while since we’ve beaten them. But we stuck together. We’re always trying to improve. We’re on the right track.”
Fritts didn’t foul out either despite three fouls in the first quarter and finished with 15 points. Hernandez and Tara Dykstra had 9 points each and combined for six of LC’s 10 3-pointers.
“It was a positive experience for our kids with the band and the big crowd,” said Bomber. “These are things you learn from that you can apply in the future.”
Nooksack Valley is back in action again on Monday when the Pioneers host Anacortes. Lynden Christian is at Oak Harbor on Wednesday before hosting rival and co-NWC leader Lynden on Saturday afternoon.
Lynden Christian 70, Nooksack Valley 50
Nooksack Valley 11 15 14 10—50
Lynden Christian 22 9 17 22—70
Nooksack Valley: Flores, Shintaffer 14, Bartl 6, Davis 14, Duque 2, Biondolillo, Harmon, Burke 2, DeHoog 12.
Lynden Christian: D. Dykstra 17, T. Dykstra 9, Hernandez 9, Fritts 15, Scott 6, Shumate 10, Van Loo, Yun 4, Pierce, Eshuis.

Lyncs guard Gannon Dykstra went off for 32 points Friday.
LC Boys Use Blitz To Down Pioneers, 82-69
Lynden Christian is known for its explosive offense, and it was one of those explosions that would eventually doom Nooksack Valley.
With the underdog Pioneers having a chance to go into halftime down by less than 10 with about 30 seconds left in the second quarter, the Lyncs turned three steals into two Dawson Hintz buckets and a 3-pointer by Gannon Dykstra.
When the buzzer sounded and the teams headed to the locker rooms, Nooksack was looking at a 19-point deficit they were unable to overcome. But at least one Pioneer wasn’t discouraged.
“I’m not taking it hard at all,” said Nooksack Valley coach Jason Heutink of the loss. “They didn’t quit and showed pride. We just had a few stretches that killed us. But they’re competitors and they battled back. We’re getting there.”
The Pioneers would actually outscore Lynden Christian in the second half, but never got closer than 11 points when there was less than two minutes left in the game. Two layups by LC forward Kaden Veldman then made sure there would be no upset.
“I didn’t think it would be this close,” said Dykstra. “Even when they hit a couple of 3s in the second half, I knew we’d pull it out.”
A big reason was the senior guard, who had a game-high 32 points on an incredibly efficient 13 of 18 shooting from the field. He had three 3-pointers, sank all three of his free throws, and dished out 4 assists. But as usual, LC’s fireworks come from more than one player.
Sophomore Gunnar Dykstra had 15 points, matched his older brother with three 3s, and collected 3 assists and 4 steals. Sophomores Hintz and Veldman had 10 points each with Veldman adding 10 rebounds and 6 assists, both team highs. And senior Luke VanKooten contributed 8 points, a pair of 3s, and 7 rebounds.
For Nooksack Valley, the effort against the third-ranked Lyncs was encouraging especially after Wednesday’s stunning loss to Mount Baker that snapped a four-game Nooksack winning streak.
As usual and certainly appropriate on senior night, it was the Pioneers’ class of ’25 that set the pace. Cory Olney had 19 points, Caden Heutink and Tristan Kamphouse had 15 points each with Kamphouse sinking three of Nooksack’s five 3-pointers, and Brady Ackerman battling inside for 8 points.
“I knew it’d be intense,” said Olney. “We had to slow it down and that helped us. But we still need to elevate our game. It was a good learning game for us.”
LC coach Tim Zylstra said it was a good reminder for his team, too, that there would be no easy games in the tough Northwest Conference.
“In the Northwest Conference, we need to expect people will keep coming and coming at us,” said Zylstra. “Every team plays hard against us. Win-loss records don’t mean much. The good thing is we can improve … and we got the W.”
Nooksack Valley continues a rugged stretch though the NWC gauntlet on Monday, when the Pioneers are at Anacortes. Lynden Christian hosts Oak Harbor on Wednesday before taking on rival and co-NWC leader Lynden on Saturday night at the Lions’ den.
Lynden Christian 82, Nooksack Valley 69
Nooksack Valley 17 12 23 17—69
Lynden Christian 25 23 21 13—82
Nooksack Valley: Coppinger 2, Olney 19, Heutink 15, Wichers 4, Kamphouse 15, Silves 2, D. Ackerman 2, VanBerkum 2, B. Ackerman 8.
Lynden Christian: Hintz 10, Gu. Dykstra 15, Ahlers, Maberry 2, Robertson 5, Howell, Ga. Dykstra 32, Van Kooten 8, Veldman 10, Kooiman.




































































